Case Study

Project: Mountain Recreation Facilities Master Plan

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Client: Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District, Park City and Park City School District

Location: Summit County, Utah

Year: 2013-2017

Landmark Design worked with Basin Recreation in the context of a community project that involved three distinct entities. Not only did Landmark take the time to understand our specific organizational goals and challenges, but Mark and Lisa adeptly appreciated the goals and challenges of the larger community. Their patient and thorough approach resulted in a plan that has both the flexibility necessary to remain relevant for the next several years and the concrete detail necessary to provide meaningful guidance to the three entities.

The Mountain Recreation Facilities Master Plan was a collaborative master planning effort between Park City Municipal Recreation, Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District and Park City School District. The plan represents the latest cooperative effort between the three entities in the development, programming and operation of recreation facilities for the greater Park City area. It identifies the best location for future recreational facilities, provides conceptual site and building designs and estimates construction, operation and maintenance costs for existing and new facilities.

The greater Park City area is growing rapidly and the need for park and recreation facilities evolves is compounding. The Mountain Recreation Facilities Master Plan provides flexible guidance for Park City, Basin Recreation and the School District to meet major recreation facility needs and desires. The plan builds upon a series of four collaborative recreation planning studies, including the Recreation Facility Demand Study 2011, the Community Interest and Opinion Survey 2012, the Mountain Recreation Strategic Action Plan 2013 (completed previously by Landmark Design) and the Feasibility Study for Park City Ice Arena Expansion.

The Mountain Recreation Facilities Master Plan establishes four guiding principles as follow: (1) Use land, energy and money responsibly, (2) Take a regional approach, (3) Ensure transit and multi-modal connections and (4) Engage the private market in partnerships. The extensive public involvement process included a project website, frequent meetings with staff and an Advisory Committee, and several well-attended public meetings and workshops.

Landmark Design led the planning process, which began with a review of previous work and an analysis of twelve potential sites, some with existing facilities. The planning team developed more than thirty preliminary concepts for each of the potential sites, which were evaluated and scored according to criteria developed by the Advisory Committee. Four organizational concepts eventually emerged, which were refined into a single Preferred Alternative that provides new recreation facilities among ten different sites. Landmark Design created all site plans, maps and graphics, coordinated the pre-programming of buildings by an architect, and authored the master plan document.

Several factors have significant impact on future implementation of the plan, including the ability and willingness of the public and each entity to secure funding, the potential development of recreation facilities by private developers, and the interest and opportunities of public/private partnerships for meeting future needs. As a result, a level of flexibility is assumed. Estimated construction costs range from $300,000 to $68 million for each site, with nearly $200 million in total improvements recommended in the final plan. Other elements addressed in the plan include funding, timing/phasing, sustainability, traffic and transportation, service gaps, accessibility, partnerships and implementation.